French mosque murder suspect arrested in Italy

A man has been detained in Italy on suspected of stabbing a man to fatally while the victim was praying inside a mosque in southern France, according to French authorities on Monday.

Abdelkrim Grini said BFM TV on Monday that the state prosecutor of the southern city of Ales in the Gard area, where the assault occured on Friday,: “I can confirm that the alleged perpetrator did indeed go to an Italian police station, near Florence, last night at around 11-11.30 pm.”

“We knew he had left France … It was only a matter of time before we got our hands on him,” Grini further stated.

The accused handed himself in Pistoia, a city close to Florence, and will be shifted to Florence before the day ends, according to Italian officials.

France will immediately begin transfer procedures, Grini said. “We will do all we can to have him back as soon as possible.”

Responding on the motivation for the assault, Abdelkrim Grini stated: “The anti-Muslim motivation is the preferred lead (…) but there are also elements in the investigation that suggest there were other motivations for carrying the act … perhaps a fascination with death, to be considered as a serial killer.”

On Sunday, French politicians criticised the assault, which was caught on video and uploaded on Snapchat.

France, a nation that prouds itself on its indigenous secularism called “laicite,” has the biggest Muslim population in Europe, counting over 6 million and making up approx 10% of the France population. (Forelines)